Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

DGFS EYFS

Our EYFS Intent at DGFS:

• as an EYFS team, we work to create a well-planned, cohesive and purposeful learning environment
• a place where children can engage, explore and extend their ideas, knowledge and understanding
• we combine whole class, direct teaching (phonics, maths and topic input everyday) small group linked activities and child initiated exploration through our continuous provision

Our EYFS Implementation at DGFS:

• we have a range of resources and activities that provide opportunities to scaffold children’s independent explorations and imaginative play… therefore making connections that will support their language (they have to ‘talk it’ before they can write it) and

mathematical perspectives (quantities, capacity, balance, etc.)

and their knowledge and awareness of the world around them

• our emotional environment is warm, welcoming and supportive and we celebrate our similarities and differences
• shared ownership of the space - children and adults work together to solve problems, think about feelings and talk through issues to find solutions
• meaningful, context based learning – opportunities for speaking, listening, mark making,

counting, exploring shape, problem solving and making connections

• a wide range of imaginative role play opportunities and resources to support retelling and interactions with other

Our EYFS Impact at DGFS:

• observe and assess children in Nursery and Reception within first 6 weeks to provide a baseline and to inform planning the provision
• also complete RBA (Reception Baseline Assessment) for Reception children 
• track understanding and development through observations, informal assessments and practical/verbal interactions with children as they engage, explore and learn
• staff are experienced and talk with the class teacher about how best to meet children’s needs by understanding where they are and how to support them in their ‘next steps’ of learning as they progress and develop.
• each child has a ‘Learning Journal’ where we keep some examples of mark making, creative projects and some photos of the child as they engage in their learning. We often share these books with the children and their comments are added by staff so we have a record of their thinking and ideas.
• successes are celebrated, examples shared with the whole class and often displayed to boost confidence and model how to achieve

DGFS Art Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

Intent

Art is a creative subject which encourages the child to become an independent thinker. The imagination of the child is one of the fundamental parts of the art curriculum, and there is a high expectation of the child to experiment with original ideas and thoughts. Art provides the child with a sound basis for developing logical steps: as our schemes of work show;

• researching and recording information through observational drawings, as well as using books and the Internet,
• investigating and exploring a variety of techniques and materials,
• developing ideas and playing about with size and layout,
• a final piece, and an evaluation – which is both self-awareness and critical analysis of others.

Our schemes of work provide a rich source of balanced activities, which embrace the National Curriculum objectives, allowing the child to build on an already wide range of techniques and ideas, leading to a successful transition from middle to upper school.

The department aims to promote, where possible, cross-curricular links which will encourage the child to revisit previously learnt knowledge, and use this to show their understanding of current topics and themes.

The department also wants to ensure that the child has a secure understanding of subject specific vocabulary, therefore keywords are introduced throughout topics, and vocabulary tests are often included in the plenaries.

Above all the department’s aim is to ensure that the child enjoys his/her art lessons, and to have fun!

Implementation

The curriculum is built around essential knowledge, understanding and key skills.  These are broken into year group expectations and show clear continuity and progress.

As a school and in accordance with the National Curriculum’s expectations, we aim to ensure that all pupils:

Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.

Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.

Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design.

Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Impact

The impact of our art and design curriculum can be seen not only in topic books but also through classroom displays and the school environment.

Everything we do is with the child in mind, and strong relationships are built between pupils and staff which create an atmosphere for learning which is conducive to success.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
• Images of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.

DGFS English Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

Intent:

At Dedworth Green we know and understand our children. We use cornerstones to ensure that our English is cross-curricular and engaging. We have worked hard to provide our children with rich and varied learning opportunities that help them to become confident and enthusiastic learners. We want our children to have a positive attitude towards communication and to be able to independently express their emotions and their ideas. Through our English Curriculum, we strive to teach the children how important their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills will be in the real world. By giving this context to their learning, the children understand the value of English to them now, and in their futures.

Implementation:

How English is taught at Dedworth Green: At Dedworth Green we want all of our pupils to be capable readers, writers, spellers and speakers, who can transfer their English skills to other curriculum subjects and who are prepared for the next steps in their education. Our English lessons develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. English is often taught in a cross-curricular way, linking up with other areas of the curriculum. We teach our pupils to speak clearly, to convey their ideas fluently and confidently and to ask questions. We know the value of excellent vocabulary and this is developed and practised across our curriculum constantly. We use Talk for Writing to encourage pupils to express their ideas, discuss their ideas and to develop more sophisticated vocabulary. Our pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure and to read widely through our reading scheme and school library. We use Little Wandle for our phonics programme. Phonic awareness helps the development of reading by segmenting and blending sounds and the children will be heard reading regularly, both individually and in groups. Our guided reading sessions cover a wide variety of both fiction and non-fiction books and help to advance the children’s comprehension skills. Parents are given reading guidance and clear expectations about reading at home. We develop writing skills so that our children have the stamina and ability to write at the age expected standard. To support children in moving towards independent writing we provide a wide range of activities including the use of film and imagery, music, ICT, modelled, shared and guided writing, peer assessment and discussion. We provide varied and exciting opportunities for writing for purpose and we encourage pupils to see themselves as authors and poets. We promote the importance of written work by providing a writing purpose and opportunities for children’s writing to be read aloud and listened to by an audience. Handwriting sessions are regularly incorporated into the English lessons. We have developed a range of extra activities which are used to promote English within the school including our year long, whole school Writing Challenge, World Book Day, Monthly class writers’ awards, Summer reading challenge and author visits.

Impact:

The impact of the English curriculum is measured through a variety of assessment opportunities. In class, Reading, Writing and Grammar are formatively assessed on a lesson-by-lesson basis through the use of verbal feedback, written feedback, peer and self-review in line with the school’s Feedback for Learning Policy. On a half termly basis KS1 and 2 are assessed in reading through formal testing and termly EYFS are assessed by teacher judgments. Writing is assessed every other week through thebig structure. We also take part in external moderations with other schools to ensure that our assessment measures are consistent and accurate.

DGFS Geography Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

Intent

Our Geography curriculum aims to create a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. We provide a high-quality curriculum that is based on the Primary National Curriculum. Learners will develop an awareness of diverse places, people and resources as well as learning about natural and human environments. Learners will be equipped with both the skills and the knowledge to learn about physical and human processes. This will include how the two processes interact and how they can have an effect on our world. This learning will develop the children’s knowledge about their local environment, and through fieldwork, what they can do to protect these environments. Their Geography learning should inspire them to discover more about the world and become life-long learners.

Implementation

We believe Geography builds a curiosity about the world that will remain with them for the rest of their lives as well as developing their cultural capital. The teaching of this subject will provide learners with:

• Half-termly topics which focus on the age-related knowledge and skills stated in the National Curriculum. These can be found in the school curriculum overviews for KS1 and KS2. Each of these topics will develop knowledge about diverse places and people, resources, natural and human environments and key physical and human processes.

• A well-developed knowledge of their local environment through visits and studies so that they know what makes our local area the place that it is and how it fits into the wider world.

• The opportunity to engage with a range of geographical resources in lessons such as: maps, globes and photographs.

• Opportunities for educational visits to selected sites both local and further afield. This will allow learners to apply geographical skills in a range of environments and deepen their understanding of physical and human processes.

• The opportunity to communicate their knowledge in a variety of ways. This may include maps, graphs, fieldwork studies, Computing and writing.

• A range of biomes are covered in our curriculum to develop children’s knowledge of these areas.

• Learners will be exposed to key geographical vocabulary. This is taught to the children at the start of each topic. Learners will be expected to use this language when exploring and reasoning with their geographical knowledge and recording work.

• Learners will engage in debates and discussions about environments and use these to challenge and shape their own views.

Impact

The aim of our geography provision will impact children in the following ways:

• Learners will have respect and knowledge of local, national and the global environments in which they live. They will have developed an understanding of how these environments interact and depend on each other and consequently the impact of their actions on these environments.

• Learners will have a strong knowledge of the physical and human processes in the world. They will have developed knowledge of how these processes interact and the effects of human intervention in physical processes.

• Learners are able to competently use a range of geographical sources.

• Learners will have developed a geographical vocabulary to allow them to speak and write geographically.

• Learners are able to record their geographical learning in a variety of ways and select the most appropriate in a given circumstance. We monitor the impact of our geography provision, through lesson observations, pupil voice and monitoring of geography work in the learner’s topic books, which may include photos and videos.

DGFS History Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

Intent

At Dedworth Green our history lessons aim to inspire children to desire to learn more about the past. Our curriculum intends to create cross curricular links between history and other topics and English. We aim to increase our knowledge of our own local history with Windsor and Berkshire; our knowledge of the wider local history of Britain; as well as our knowledge of the wider world. Our curriculum creates opportunities to learn about changes within history within our own living memory, as well as exploring events beyond our memory. These changes in our own living memory allow us to work through key ideas and how we can compare these to events beyond our living memory. We aim to explore ideas of diversity and belief through learning about significant individuals and places within history. We encourage ideas of debate and reflection to ensure children are equipped with the ability to understand what it means to be historians.

Implementation

We develop our children's historical understanding through cross-curricular links and our cornerstones curriculum. We ensure this is engaging and encourage hands on learning through our use of topics from the cornerstone's curriculum, as well as trips and engage events to promote historical thinking. We promote various essential characteristics in our children to help them to become historians. These characteristics include:

• Thinking critically about different events and people in history;
• Evaluating and challenging different ideas and views through debates, discussions and questioning our past;
• Developing a curiosity to learn more about our history;
• Developing methods of historical enquiry to understand why evidence is used in different ways and why different arguments are made;
• Increasing our understanding of people in the past, events and contexts through a coherent and chronological narrative.

Implementation

We develop our children's historical understanding through cross-curricular links and our cornerstones curriculum. We ensure this is engaging and encourage hands on learning through our use of topics from the cornerstone's curriculum, as well as trips and engage events to promote historical thinking. We promote various essential characteristics in our children to help them to become historians. These characteristics include:

• Thinking critically about different events and people in history;
• Evaluating and challenging different ideas and views through debates, discussions and questioning our past;
• Developing a curiosity to learn more about our history;
• Developing methods of historical enquiry to understand why evidence is used in different ways and why different arguments are made;
• Increasing our understanding of people in the past, events and contexts through a coherent and chronological narrative.

DGFS Maths Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

INTENT

At Dedworth Green, we are MATHEMATICIANS! 

We want our children to love Maths!

We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and grow up with secure mathematical understanding which will assist them in whichever career path they take, as well as in their daily lives. 

In order to do this, we want our children to:

• Make mistakes and use them to learn new things
• Describe, explain and discuss their work
• Show resilience
• Have imaginative ideas
• Ask questions
• Have confidence
• Ask for help
• Help each other
• Challenge themselves
• Take risks

IMPLEMENTATION

• To ensure full topic coverage, we use a whole-school primary maths curriculum that creates continuity and progression in the teaching of mathematics.
• Daily maths lessons include fluency, reasoning and problem solving.

• Lessons are differentiated in many different ways to ensure there is appropriate challenge and support for all learners.
• Within our maths lessons children are taught to understand the multiplication concepts underlying times tables. TT Rock Stars is then used to enthuse pupils to practice sufficiently to achieve automatic recall.
• Interventions are put in place to support children where necessary.

• Concrete manipulatives and pictorial representations are used to support conceptual understanding and to make links across topics.
• Children are individually rewarded for maths successes.

IMPACT

Our teaching of, and curriculum for, mathematics will lead to excellent progress over time across all key stages relative to each individual child’s starting point. It is designed to prepare children for their future in and outside of education so they can become successful in whatever they pursue by leaving our school at least at the expected standard for their age. Our rich and broad mathematics curriculum aims to make the children enthusiastic about learning mathematics and gain an understanding of its importance in everyday life. Children are individually assessed regularly using formative and summative assessment is used to inform future teaching, thus ensuring teaching is responsive to the needs of the pupils at Dedworth Green.

DGFS PE Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

Intent:

Why our PE curriculum looks like this:

PE at Dedworth Green First School School aims to develop a fun, high-quality physical education curriculum that inspires all pupils to succeed and excel individual’s abilities in competitive sports and other physically-demanding activities. We will provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Our children will have opportunities to compete in sport and other activities that build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect. PE at Dedworth Green is an imperative element of the curriculum, which develops a need for healthy life styles, a balanced diet, positive growth mind-set and the resilience to persevere with activities that may be once have felt too difficult. We are passionate about the need to teach children how to cooperate and collaborate with others, as part of a team, understanding fairness and equity of play to embed life-long values.

‘Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it’ Michael Jordan

Implementation:

How PE is taught at Dedworth Green First School:

Pupils at Dedworth Green participate in weekly high quality PE and sporting activities.  Our PE programme, incorporates a variety of sports to ensure all children develop the confidence, tolerance and the appreciation of their own and others’ strengths and weaknesses. At Dedworth Green we follow REAL PE from EYFS through to year 4, a scheme which is fully aligned to the national curriculum and allows the children at our school to focus on the development of agility, balance and coordination, healthy competition and cooperative learning . We provide opportunities for all children to engage in extra-curricular activities after school, in addition to competitive sporting events, whilst also signposting to clubs outside of school. This is an inclusive approach which endeavours to encourage not only physical development but also well-being for all pupils. To further implement positive attitudes to physical activity and well-being, we as a school take part in the daily mile, take regular movements breaks and often practice meditation.

Impact:

The impact of our PE is to create a unique child centered approach that transforms how we teach PE to engage and challenge every child. We use a simple assessment tool to assess the children within creative, cognitive, health and fitness, personal, social and applying physical skills.

DGFS R.E Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

Intent

At Dedworth Green First School, we believe that it is important for all our pupils to learn from and about religion, so that they can understand the world around them.

The aim of Religious Education in our school is to help children to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of Christianity and the other principal religions represented in Great Britain; to appreciate the way that religious beliefs shape life and behaviour, develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues and enhance their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

A strong belief in teaching R.E at Dedworth Green First School is if our pupils cannot understand something, they cannot then show respect towards it. Therefore, Religious Education is taught by asking challenging key questions for pupils to understand meaning, purpose, beliefs about God, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.

R.E plays an important role, along with all other curriculum areas, particularly PSHCE, in promoting social awareness and understanding in our children. We encourage our pupils to ask questions about the world and to reflect on their own beliefs, values and experiences. We include and promote British values, ensuring that children are aware of their rights and responsibilities as UK citizens.

Our curriculum is designed to encourage creativity, imagination, enquiry, debate, discussion and independence to prepare our pupils for the modern, pluralist world.

Implementation

We use the National Curriculum and The Pan-Berkshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education 2018-2023, as a basis for our R.E curriculum.

At Dedworth Green, it has been agreed that having taken into account the requirements and guidelines presented in the Agreed Syllabus, the following religions have been selected for study across the Dedworth Campus up to Year 6:

• Christianity
• Islam
• Judaism
• Hinduism
• Sikhism

From the syllabus it is required that: -

• Early Years Foundation Stage - Christianity and at least one of the other principal religions aligned to the most recent national EYFS Framework
• KS1 - Christianity is studied and one other principal religion in some depth
• KS2 – Christianity is studied and two other principal religions in some depth

There are no presumptions made as to the religious backgrounds and beliefs and values of the children and staff. We value the religious background of all members of the school community and hope that this will encourage individuals to share their own experiences with others freely.

All religions and their communities are treated with respect and sensitivity and we value the links, which are, and can be made between home, school, and a faith community. We are extremely lucky that members of the local church, All Saints, regularly visit our school to carry out assemblies in pre-covid times.

We acknowledge that each religion studied can contribute to the education of all our pupils. We promote teaching Religious Education that uses open enquiry and first-hand experiences wherever possible for both staff and children.

Impact

The children at Dedworth Green First School enjoy learning about other religions and why people choose, or choose not to follow a religion. Through their R.E learning, the children are able to make links between their own lives and those of others in their community and in the wider world, developing an understanding of other people’s cultures and ways of life. As such, R.E is invaluable in an ever changing world.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning
• Images of the children’s practical learning
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice)
• Pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.

DGFS Science Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Overview

Intent

Science encourages pupils to become inquisitive and curious learners. We encourage pupils to take an interest in the world around them. Cross curricular links are made to make learning relevant for pupils.

Our curriculum is designed to engage pupils through a variety of theory and practical experiences to prepare pupils for their next stage of education. We teach pupils Scientific Enquiry Skills to enable them to develop their investigative problem-solving skills.

Implementation

In EYFS

Our natural curiosity is encouraged, and we get to explore and experience the world through play. Science is part of the strand ‘Understanding the World’ and focuses on things we may encounter in our daily lives. We are supported to question what we see and are helped to explain our ideas using what we know. All of the experiences we have in EYFS will help give use the knowledge and understanding we’ll need for the science we’ll do in KS1.

In KS1

In Years 1 and 2, we realise that science is how we come to understand the world around us. We learn about things we experience everyday, such as our bodies, the natural world and materials. We are taught to observe objects, materials and living things carefully and we describe what we see. We ask simple questions about the things we notice and we recognise that they can be answered in different ways

In KS2

In Years 3 and 4. we become accurate and careful observers and recorders of both our investigations and findings. We know a range of ways our scientific questions can be answered, and we’re supported to test out our own ideas. We learn how to create tables and graphs of our data and can write clearly about what we’ve experienced and noticed during class enquiries.

Impact

The impact and measure of this is to ensure children not only acquire the appropriate age-related knowledge linked to the science curriculum, but also skills which equip them to progress from their starting points, and within their everyday lives.

All children will have:

• A wider variety of skills linked to both scientific knowledge and understanding, and scientific enquiry/investigative skills.
• A richer vocabulary which will enable to articulate their understanding of taught concepts.
• High aspirations, which will see them through to further study, work and a successful adult life.